


i'm on fire (it'll burn me up)

by lavenderlotion



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Arguing, Armando Muñoz Lives, Canon Divergence - Post X-Men: First Class (2011), Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Light Angst, M/M, Stitches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28958448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/pseuds/lavenderlotion
Summary: “You goddamn idiot,” Armando said, but then he was crossin’ the room in long, quick strides and tuggin’ Alex into his arms.Oh.
Relationships: Armando Muñoz/Alex Summers
Comments: 12
Kudos: 28





	i'm on fire (it'll burn me up)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flightinflame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/gifts).



> For the Tumblr prompt: _”Patching up a wound”_

Alex grit his teeth against the sting of pain that flooded out from his arm. He hissed at Armando, barin’ his teeth in a snarl as the man pressed alcohol-soaked cotton against the torn-open skin on his upper arm.  _ Fuck, _ that stung. 

“Can you be  _ careful?” _ Alex asked darkly. “That fuckin’ hurts.”

Armando raised his face from where he was bent over Alex’s arm, and gave Alex a real unimpressed look. Dryly, the fucker said, “Interesting,” and nothin’ else. 

Alex sneered at him, tryin’ to ignore the way his heart was achin’ even more than his arm. 

By the time the stitchin’ started, Alex was fuckin’ done. “Do you even know what you’re fuckin’ doin’ in my arm?”

Armando raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say nothin’. That pissed Alex off more, who was itchin’ for a fight. Fire was burnin’ under his skin and he needed to let it  _ out. _

Only, Armando wasn’t doin’ nothin’ to help. 

_ “Fuck,” _ he swore, after a real fuckin’ deep stitch. “Fuck, you just gonna ignore me as you fuck up my arm?”

“If I were you, I would stop talking before I  _ do _ ‘fuck up’ your arm,” Armando growled, which was the most fuckin’ emotion that Alex had gotten outta him since the jet landed and Armando marched straight down to Hank’s lab with Alex trailin’ after him like some kinda loser. 

Alex didn’t say nothin’ as Armando kept goin’. He wouldn’t say he was  _ chagrined, _ but he wouldn’t say he wasn’t, neither. Armando didn’t do much swearin’, not even when he was mockin’ Alex. If he was talkin’ like  _ that, _ he was real pissed, but fuck Alex if he knew what the hell Armando was mad about. 

The silence was real tense as Armando finished. Alex wanted to cut in and say  _ somethin’, _ but he wasn’t sure  _ how.  _ All he’d fuckin’ done was step in front of a bullet that was headin’ straight for Armando’s back. It wasn’t like Alex had been  _ tryin’ _ to get hit by it! He’d just been tryin’ to push the other man outta the way ‘fore he ended up  _ dead. _ If anythin’, it was the bullet’s fault for grazin’ his arm, and Armando should be mad at the bullet!

But he wasn’t. Armando was pissed at  _ him, _ which was real fuckin’ clear as he finished up stitchin’ Alex’s arm and said  _ nothin’.  _ No, Armando just went about cleanin’ shit up and washin’ his hands down, silence stretchin’ on and on. Sure, Armando didn’t talk near as much as Alex did, but Armando  _ knew _ that Alex didn’t like the silence, that it reminded him too much of solitary, so he’d try to fill it. 

He wasn’t tryin’ to fill it now. 

Finally, Armando took a real deep breath and turned to face him. Alex thought he was gonna cross the room, but he stayed at the sink as he crossed his arms over his chest in a way that made his arms flex  _ real _ nicely under his uniform. 

Then Armando started talkin’, and the anger in his voice made Alex’s growin’ arousal die out real quick. 

“What the hell were you thinking?” Armando demanded, talkin’ to Alex in a way he  _ hated, _ in a way that made him feel like nothin’ but a dumb kid followin’ him around. 

“Wasn’t thinkin’ nothin’, ‘Mando. It ain’t a big deal,” Alex muttered, goin’ to cross his own arms but hissin’ as it pulled at the wound. Fuck. 

Alex looked up in time to realize that wasn’t the right answer. 

“Not a big deal?” Armando asked, deathly calm in a way that never meant nothin’ good ‘fore he exploded with, “You could have gotten yourself killed!”

“And I didn’t, now did I?” Alex asked, duckin’ his head to hide from the accusation in Armando’s eyes. “There ain’t nothin’ to be freakin’ out about.”

“Nothing? Alex, that was the dumbest thing you’ve ever done!”

Which... that was fuckin’ rude. “Gee, love you too, asshole,” Alex muttered, tryin’ to look like he wasn’t hurt but sure as fuck his face was doin’ somethin’ too vulnerable. 

“Now is not the time for humour!” Armando snapped rudely. “Why the hell would you take the hit?  _ I  _ am the one with adaptability, in case you’ve forgotten what our individual mutations are in that empty head of yours!”

Alex reared back, anger gettin’ brighter and hotter. Plasma sparked ‘round his shoulders, but he took a real deep breath to centre himself ‘fore goin’ supernova. 

“I didn’t do it for fun, you fucker.”

“Then why did you do it? Why the hell would you do something so  _ reckless!” _

“I couldn’t lose you again!” Alex shouted, his voice dyin’ away in his throat. “You fuckin’ happy now, makin’ me say it? There isn’t a fuckin’  _ world _ where I’d be able to k-keep livin’ if I lost ya again, so I ain’t gonna fuckin’ go through it, yeah?” Alex took another deep breath and forced himself to calm down, wipin’ angrily at his face to get ridda his tears. “I don’t... I don’t fuckin’ care, okay? I ain’t losin’ ya, not for nothin’, not if I can do somethin’ about it.”

“You goddamn idiot,” Armando said, but then he was crossin’ the room in long, quick strides and tuggin’ Alex into his arms. 

Oh. 

Alex let himself melt ‘gainst his lover, breathin’ in the spicy-sweet scent that he’d fallen in love with durin’ hidden moments and stolen nights. A scent he’d  _ never _ thought he’d get to have again, not when his fury had turned his love to dust. But he got it now, and Alex clung to Armando’s suit with desperate fingers that neither of ‘em would ever mention, and let the man he loved more than  _ life _ hold him close. 

When Armando had been holdin’ him long enough that Alex wasn’t cryin’ no more and felt a shade too vulnerable, he said, “This is sendin’ mixed signals, ‘Mando. Ain’t ya mad at me?”

Armando snorted and kissed his head. “I can be mad at you and still hug you, you idiot.”

“Oh...” Alex breathed, holdin’ Armando closer, “okay. Keep goin’ then. I like the huggin’.”

“I know you like the hugging, baby.” Armando’s nose rubbed ‘gainst Alex’s temple.  _ Fuck, _ what would Alex do without him? “God, I love you,” Armando said, low and deep, rumblin’ from his chest and into Alex’s ear, and Alex?

Let out a breathless laugh and curled himself up to hide against Armando’s chest, the fire in his blood simmerin’ to a low flickerin’ light that felt a lot like what Armando was showin’ him love felt like. Quietly, Alex whispered, “Love you too,” and meant it as a vow, even if he was the only one who knew it. 

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi to me on [tumblr](https://lavender-lotion.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> kudos aren’t the same as getting a comment, not even close. so a comment, as short and sweet or as sprawling and sporadic as you can manage, would be _greatly_ appreciated! don't know what to comment? how about _”this was great!”_ or _“awesome work!”_
> 
> i run an 18+ x-men discord server! check it out [here!](https://discord.gg/pebvUEnWB6)


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